Saint Paul, MN Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing sections
- §§ 39.01–39.03, Smoke and CO Alarms
- State cross-reference
- Minn. Stat. §§ 299F.362, 299F.51
- Power source
- CO alarms: battery, plug-in, or AC-wired
- Repair deadline
- 24 hours after notification of a defective alarm
- Tied to
- Fire certificate of occupancy renewal affidavit
Summary
Saint Paul requires carbon monoxide alarms in every dwelling, lodginghouse, apartment house and hotel under Chapter 39, adopting the state's CO-alarm mandate (Minn. Stat. §§ 299F.362, 299F.51) directly into city code. Owners of rented dwellings must keep alarms working and repair or replace any defective unit within 24 hours of being notified. CO alarms may be battery-powered, plug-in, or hard-wired to house current.
Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms shall be maintained in dwellings, lodginghouses, apartment houses and hotels as required by Minnesota statutes 299F.362 and 299F.51, in accordance with the rules promulgated thereunder. In new construction, smoke alarms shall be attached to a centralized AC primary electrical power source. Carbon monoxide alarms are allowed to be battery operated, plug-in, or attached to a centralized AC electrical power source. ... (b)The owner of a lodginghouse, apartment house, hotel or rented dwelling shall maintain all required smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms and shall repair or replace, within twenty-four (24) hours after notification, any alarm that is defective or nonoperative.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 133 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 39, "Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Alarms in Certain Buildings," was rewritten by Ord. 16-33 in 2016. 02 then places three specific duties on owners of a "lodginghouse, apartment house, hotel or rented dwelling": deliver written instructions to each occupant on the alarm's location, operation and low-battery/power-failure procedures; maintain every required alarm and repair or replace any defective or nonoperative unit within 24 hours of notification; and, for properties that need a fire certificate of occupancy, file a renewal affidavit certifying that all alarms are inspected, serviced and operational.
03 puts a matching duty on occupants, they must tell the owner when a CO alarm's low-battery tone sounds or its power light fails. 02(c) affidavit, a landlord who can't truthfully attest that CO alarms are operational risks losing or delaying that certificate, tying the CO-alarm duty directly to the building's legal right to be occupied.
Violations & Fines
An owner who fails to maintain a required CO alarm, or who doesn't repair or replace a defective one within 24 hours of notification under Section 39.02(b), is out of compliance with Chapter 39; because Section 39.02(c) requires an affidavit that all alarms are operational with every fire certificate of occupancy renewal, an owner cannot truthfully renew that certificate without fixing the alarm first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Saint Paul require carbon monoxide alarms in rental units?
Can a Saint Paul landlord use a battery-powered CO alarm instead of a hard-wired one?
What must a Saint Paul landlord tell tenants about CO alarms?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Saint Paul
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